


Give You Peace

by anastiel



Series: Supernatural Codas [19]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Coda, Destiel is canon, Episode: s15e20 Carry On, First Kiss, Fix-It of Sorts, Heaven, M/M, Post-Episode: s15e20 Carry On, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28058529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anastiel/pseuds/anastiel
Summary: “He loved you too, you know?” Jack says.Cas knows, feels Dean’s love intertwined in the essence of his grace. He feels it in every prayer Dean still lifts up to Heaven unsure if Cas can hear him at all. He knows Dean loves him, knows it like air, like the fabric of the universe.“He does,” Cas agrees. “Not in the same way I love him, but he loves me and that’s enough.”
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Supernatural Codas [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/160976
Comments: 23
Kudos: 263





	Give You Peace

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from "Peace," by Miss Taylor Swift on Folklore.

Reshaping heaven proves to be easier than Castiel anticipated. Jack, in all his new God-power, takes little time to start breaking down the walls between millions of separate heavens until eternity is one and never-ending. Castiel follows along beside him offering guidance when necessary. At completion, a great cry sounds, vibrating the fabric of heaven itself, millions of souls rejoicing at their freedom. 

After, Castiel walks among them with Jack at his side. They’re fascinated with Jack, his obvious innocence, and yet entranced and terrified by his latent power palpable in the air around them. With Castiel, they regard him in curiosity, yet afraid of him too. His wings are healed, Jack made sure to see to that once he brought Castiel back. Behind him, they arch over his shoulders, iridescent and sparkling in rainbow colors, rustling as he walks. No one dares to touch and he’s grateful for that. They wouldn’t be allowed to anyway. 

Together, they walk until everyone is gone and back to their own lives, ending up on the cliff of a wide Canyon. Bright blue sky stretches out in every direction, dotted with fluffy clouds. The sun shines down from high above and illuminates Jack’s face.

It will take some adjusting for Castiel to get used to Jack being God, but he sure looks the part. And he’ll be a good one, Castiel knows this. He helped raise him to be loving, to be kind, to emanate everything Castiel learned from Dean, learned from Sam, and humanity. 

“What will you do now?” Castiel asks. 

Jack contemplates this and a small smile appears on his lips. “Watch over the earth. As I told Sam and Dean, I will be hands-off, but the past few years have been rough and humanity needs me to help everything move smoothly again. Don’t worry I’ll be back soon, I’m only a prayer away if you need me.” 

Distantly, Castiel remembers Kelly, remembers placing his hand on her stomach, and feeling Jack’s power for the first time. He remembers seeing the paradise of earth that her -- their, his and Sam and Dean’s -- son would create. It’s all coming to fruition, the freedom of heaven is just a bonus.

“What about you, Cas? Now that you’re free.” 

Cas hadn’t been sure at first. Every instinct in him wanted to be on earth with Dean, though he worried about how Dean would react to seeing him again after Cas’ confession. Despite the distance between them, through the planes, Cas can feel Dean’s mourning. But he feels Dean’s resolute acceptance too, his desire to live in the understanding of himself as the man Cas believed him to be. Cas never needed Dean’s reciprocation of his feelings, he only needed Dean to know he was loved and that he was good. 

“I think I’ll work on Dean’s heaven. He will be here one day and I want it to be ready for him. Dean deserves the best and I want him to have everything he could possibly want.” 

“He loved you too, you know?” Jack says.

Cas knows, feels Dean’s love intertwined in the essence of his grace. He feels it in every prayer Dean still lifts up to heaven unsure if Cas can hear him at all. He knows Dean loves him, knows it like air, like the fabric of the universe. 

“He does,” Cas agrees. “Not in the same way I love him, but he loves me and that’s enough.”

“Do you miss him?” Jack asks. 

“Every second. I don’t regret what I did. It saved him, it saved everyone.”

Jack quirks his mouth up, happy, and turns to look out at the expanse of horizon around them. “Thank you for helping me fix heaven, it’s better now. It feels right, like how it should have always been.”

Cas matches Jack’s gaze, admiring the work they put in. It’s not identical to Earth, but it’s close. Anything missing can easily be manifested by anyone who simply asks. Cas places a hand on Jack’s shoulder and squeezes. “You did good, Jack.”

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Jack says, excited. He turns to Cas and holds a finger up. “One last thing: I made more angels, a few thousand. They should wake up soon. They’ll keep the new heaven powered and help me if I need them to. If you can, guide them. I don’t think they’ll need it, but they are fledglings after all.”

“Are you certain they’ll be alright?” A new host of angels is a lot to take on, especially as a new God and the resident elder angels, Cas included, being only near a dozen.

Jack grins and nods once. “I know they will be, I made them to be like you.”

Cas feels his heart clench in his chest and a well of emotion rises up, tears pricking at his eyes. “Jack...”

“Goodbye Cas, I’ll see you soon.” He holds up a palm, in his usual farewell, and then he’s gone, vanished into thin air, leaving Cas with tear-stained cheeks on the edge of a rocky canyon. 

* * *

The new heaven lacks the old boundaries of before, everyone is free to roam and visit who they wish. It’s a second chance at life, free from pain, sickness, only joy and happiness for all eternity. Bobby spends most of his days now outside Harvelle’s, sitting outside on the porch in the old, creaky wicker chair with a beer in his hand. When Cas finds him after speaking with Jack, Bobby’s in his usual spot, humming along to an AC/DC song that’s drifting out of the jukebox from inside the bar. 

“Cas,” Bobby says, fond and tips his beer in Cas’ direction. 

“How do you like Heaven?” Cas asks. 

“It’s perfect, better than reliving memories that’s for sure. It actually feels like home.” 

“I’m glad. I hope Dean and Sam agree when it’s their time.” Cas settles into the seat next to Bobby and quirks his head at the beer in Bobby’s hand. “Dean likes that brand, right?” 

Bobby glances down at the label and shrugs. “It ain’t one of his favorites, but I always had it in the house for when the boys stopped by. It has a bitter kick, but Dean always said drinking it reminded him of me.”

“Well, I’ll make sure he has it easily accessible then.”

“What do you mean?” Bobby asks, confusion evident in his tone.

“I am... working on setting up his Heaven, well, at least parts of it,” Cas explains. “Small things he might want, his favorites.”

“You expecting him sometime soon?” 

Cas shakes his head. “No, but I figured I might start now. I want it to be perfect.”

“You love him dontcha?” Bobby squints at Cas from underneath the brim of his baseball cap. There’s understanding in his eyes and a bit of awe, realization that a creature like Cas could love one of them. 

“Yes, more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything.”

Bobby nods, contemplative, and sips at his beer. “Does he know?”

“I told him right before The Empty took me.”

With an incredulous laugh, Bobby shakes his head. “Well, you learned that from him, always leave the emotional stuff right before you go.” He rubs his fingers against the label of the beer until it crumbles and falls off. Lifting his eyes to Cas’ he looks at him, really looks, and adds, “I hope you know that you were always pretty special to him.”

“Thank you, Bobby. I do. If you need me, I’ll be around.”

“Don’t work too hard,” Bobby adds, with a cheeky grin, tipping his beer bottle in Cas’ direction.

* * *

A few blocks away Cas creates a small cabin, most of which he leaves bare - empty rooms, strong and sturdy cedar walls, and a wide wrap-around porch with a wooden rocking chair creaking back and forth in the slight wind. It’s the details that matter, so Cas focuses on those. Dean will figure out the rest, the furniture within, and some of the decorations, but Cas knows, as he knows the intricacies of Dean’s soul, what kind of home he’d always dreamed of.

Cas only hopes Dean finds something like this on Earth. He hopes Dean finds happiness. 

In his memories, Cas knows of the pictures Dean keeps close: a few of him and Sam as kids, a few of the three of them together, some of his parents, a couple with just Cas and him, and others of people he cares for. It’s these images Cas hangs on the walls down the main hallway of Dean’s eternal home. Dean may change them, but for now, they’ll stay, welcoming him when he gets here.

The kitchen Cas keeps simple doesn’t bother with it much but the essentials - a stove, microwave, fridge, counter space. Inside the fridge is another story. In Heaven, Dean won’t need to eat or drink or do any sort of human thing that he used to, but he’ll want to. Cas makes sure to fill it with all of the earthly goods he knows Dean enjoys. Starting with the beer first, Cas lines the bottom of the fridge with two dozen bottles, all of Dean’s favorites: El Sol, Texas Star, Margikugel, and a few others he’d seen Dean drink and enjoy over the years. He manifests a few pies next, placing them on the middle shelf of the fridge. Dean’s favorite pecan pie from Suzie’s Diner in Chatom, Alabama goes in the center, next to it a Boston creme pie and apple on the other side. It’s not everything he wants Dean to have, but it’s a start. 

As he wanders through the hallways, he crafts the bare bones of each room by hand. Dean’s bedroom he lingers on, taking extra care when shaping the walls, outlining the square of the window at the exact angle so that Dean will have the perfect view of the sunrise in the morning. Beside Dean’s bed, he places a tan, plush dog bed. He learned of Miracle from Jack, how Dean had taken to him instantly. One day Miracle will be here too, hopefully before Dean, and no doubt Dean will want him at his side. 

Cas continues on through the cabin, finishing up small touches throughout; adjusting the curve of the walls and the arch of the ceilings. He’s in the center of the house, near the living room, when he hears the unmistakable growl of the Impala’s engine off in the distance. It grows louder, settling to a stop right outside of the house. Cas feels his heart jump from his chest into his throat.

_ Dean.  _

He isn’t supposed to be here, it’s too soon. In earth time, it’s only been a few weeks since Jack took on God’s power. 

A loud metallic squeal echoes from outside, then a clunk as the Impala’s door is shut, followed by the loud crunch of gravel underneath boots. 

Frozen in place Cas isn’t sure what to do. He could leave, teleport to another area of heaven, and put off his inevitable reunion with Dean. He is not ready for this, he’s not prepared to see Dean again so soon after his confession. 

But running is never the answer, this he knows from past mistakes. He has no hope of Dean returning his affections, yet that doesn’t matter to him. Dean’s friendship is precious, something Cas yearns to have even if he cannot have Dean in the way he desires, he will gladly have Dean in his life however he can for the rest of eternity. 

Heart pounding in his chest, Cas makes his way to the front door and pushes it open. He finds Dean at the base of the front steps, hands stuffed into his pockets, glancing around at the house in awe. He looks up when the door creaks and catches Cas’ eyes, staring up at him, shock registering on his face. It feels like deja vu, to near a decade ago, except this isn’t Cas’ house and he isn’t married to a woman who took him in off the street. 

Dean smiles up at him, wide and bright, looking exactly the same as when Cas left him on earth. For a moment Cas is overwhelmed at the illumination of Dean’s soul, overpowering, pure, and more beautiful than all of the galaxies in the universe. 

Before he has a chance to recover, Dean’s smile softens, tilting up to one side and then he jogs up the front steps, pulling Cas into his arms in a tight hug. 

“Hey Cas,” Dean whispers, burying his face in the crook of Cas’ neck. 

Cas hugs back, clinging to the thick fabric of Dean’s coat, and breathes him in. Briefly, Dean’s lips brush the side of his neck, accidental, but it’s too much and Cas forgets that hugs are supposed to end.

“Dean,” Cas says, somehow finding his voice. He allows himself a few more seconds of bliss entrapped in Dean’s arms and then pulls back to look at him. “Why are you here... so soon?” 

“Vamp nest, it was an accident. So stupid, a friggin’ piece of rebar, but at least I knew it was real, and it wasn’t Chuck.”

“I’m sorry,” Cas replies, genuine. “I wanted you to... be able to live a full life. To be free, to find happiness on earth.”

Dean darts his eyes down from Cas’ and nods, a quick jerk of his head. He doesn’t reply at first, thinking, scuffing his boot against the wooden plank of the landing. After a few seconds, he replies, “I think I’ll be able to find happiness here too.”

Cas finds he doesn’t quite know what to say to that. Something feels different. The unspoken acknowledgment of his feelings for Dean is between them now, not uncomfortable but there and Cas doesn’t know how to navigate this. 

“I don’t know if you heard me,” Dean says, breaking Cas out of his thoughts. “But I prayed to you... after The Empty took you.”

_...You’re gone, again, this time for good. What the hell am I supposed to do, Cas? I know you did this to save me, to give us a chance at Chuck. But I don’t -- I want you back. I want you here, with me. Alive. And you can’t just -- just say you love me and leave! Not when I didn’t get to say it back, I -- fuck. I love you too... _

Cas heard him, heard how Dean pleaded for anyone who was listening to bring Cas back for hours, incomprehensible through tears in the same room where Cas left him. He heard him in the days following when Dean couldn’t sleep, and after they beat Chuck. Cas heard every prayer Dean sent him until Dean showed up here.

“I heard you, Dean.”

“All of it?” Dean asks. 

“Every word.”

“Good,” Dean says, voice quiet, tinged with a hint of nervousness, cheeks flushed just slightly. “That’s good, I’m glad.”

Silence stretches between them and Dean’s eyes are on him again, wide and full of awe. Momentarily, Cas is confused until he remembers,  _ right, his wings.  _

“Do you like them?” Cas asks, suddenly bashful. To angels, wings are precious, something unshared physically with anyone except mates, and for many shared with no one. For Cas, who never considered mating with other angels, he’d never wanted to share his wings with anyone until he met Dean. “They’re rather bright in Heaven, not black as you saw them on Earth. Here, your soul can see their true appearance.” He moves his shoulders so the wings flutter, their kaleidoscope of colors shimmering, casting rainbow shadows across the walkway.

“Cas,” Dean says, a little breathless. “They’re beautiful.”

Warmth blooms on Cas’ cheeks. “Thank you, Dean.”

“Can I --” Dean pauses, clears his throat, and tries again. “Can I touch them?”

Cas’ heart stutters in his chest, a quick flutter. He nods. “Yes.”

Dean shouldn’t be  _ allowed  _ to touch them, but Cas has a habit of throwing out all angelic rules when it comes to Dean. After all, if anyone were to be his mate, it would be Dean.

Cas arches his wing, curving it down over his shoulder towards Dean, close enough for Dean to easily reach out and touch. 

Dean’s fingers are careful as he slides his fingers between the feathers on the edge of Cas’ wing. Reverently, he strokes a golden feather between his index finger and thumb. Cas fights back the urge to shiver, even as his soft blush creeps up his neck to his ears. 

It wouldn’t be right for him to ask for more -- for Dean to trace his fingers over the curve of Cas’ wing, bumping along the edge of the bone, between each feather -- not now and probably not ever. As always, Dean’s touch awakens something in him and brings back the yearning he’d thought he’d gotten a handle of. 

Dragging his hand back, Dean smiles, lips tipped up on one side. “They’re so soft. And beautiful. I wondered, seeing rainbows up in the sky, what they’d feel like if you could touch them. I bet it’s sorta like that. Thank you for letting me.”

Their gazes lock and Cas thinks, briefly, maybe the prayers he heard Dean say that reached him all the way in the Empty were true. Maybe Dean does love him too. 

Dean glances past him, at the house, and asks. “This mine?”

“Yes, but it’s not finished,” Cas says, with a trace of a frown on his lips. “I’d thought... I had more time and I wanted everything to be perfect --”

“You fixed heaven, Cas,” Dean says. “That ain’t easy and you still had time to do this? For me? Before you and Jack, Heaven sucked. No one wants to relive their memories. You made it better, you made it a place I might finally be able to have peace.”

The truth of Dean’s words are present in the look on his face, the soft smile playing on his lips, and the slack slant of his shoulders, more relaxed than Cas has ever seen him.  _ It was worth it _ ,  _ everything I did for him was worth it,  _ Cas thinks. Even though he’ll yearn for Dean in ways he cannot have for the rest of eternity, his sacrifice was worth it to finally see contentment etched, hopefully permanently, into the entirety of Dean’s being.

“I’d hoped so.”

Dean’s smile widens and he reaches out, clapping a hand on Cas’ shoulder, squeezing tight. “Show me around?”

Nodding, Cas finds he can’t tear his eyes away from Dean’s. This feels like one of those moments, if he were braver, he’d close the distance between them and kiss Dean. The moment breaks as Dean’s palm drops from Cas’ shoulder. Cas misses his warmth, misses the grounding that Dean’s touch has always given him. He takes a step back to collect himself and pushes the front door open, gesturing towards the inside. 

“Welcome home, Dean.”

Once they’re past the threshold, Cas lets Dean head into the cabin in front of him. Slowly, Dean wanders through the rooms. He doesn’t say much, just looks, pausing every couple of paces or so to stand in the center of the room and take it in. A permanent soft smile is on his lips. Happy. He’s happy. Cas’ work may be unfinished, but Dean loves what he created, and that’s all that matters. 

When Dean gets to the main hallway and sees all of the pictures hung neatly on the wall, he freezes mid-step and reaches out, tracing his fingers along with the frame of him as a child with Mary. 

“How did you --?” Dean asks, voice quiet, and then trails off. He turns to look at Cas, unshed tears in his eyes. 

“A few years ago you showed me the pictures that you had from childhood, ones you kept close, the ones your Dad kept in his wallet that you took and kept with you after he died. They were special to you and I know that your family, well, they’re mostly all here, but I thought you’d want your good memories of them in your eternal home too.”

Dean nods, turning back to look at the picture. A tear slips down Dean’s cheek and Cas fights back the urge to wipe it away. Continuing down the hallway, Dean admires every image Cas so carefully hung on the walls, fingers lovingly tracing over the frames. The last is an image of him and Cas, one Sam took of them in their cowboy getups in Dodge City. At the time, Cas felt extremely silly in the hat Dean made him wear, but looking back, looking at Dean’s evident joy at that moment, Cas truly didn’t mind that much. 

Dean grabs Cas’ forearm and squeezes once. “Thank you.” 

“Dean, you don’t need to keep thanki --”

“I do,” Dean interrupts. “Just, let me okay?” 

Dean’s hand vanishes as he continues on. As always, Cas follows. Heading past the kitchen, Dean pushes open the door to the back porch. It spans the length of the house, overlooking a lush, mossy forest and bubbling creek. In the sun, the rocks near the edge of the water, spark glints of light like a dying star. Dean leans up against the railing and Cas settles next to him, their elbows brushing. He watches as Dean sucks in a deep breath of fresh air and releases it in a sigh. 

“So this house... I never told you about this place.”

“You didn’t,” Cas agrees. “When I saved you from Hell I held your soul and saw all of your memories. In them I found a cabin, from many years ago, and I’ve kept it in my own memories ever since. It was in southern Oregon, tucked back into the trees beside a creek, two bedrooms, nothing fancy. You and Sam stayed there for a few months one spring while Sam finished up eighth grade.”

“I remember,” Dean says, almost wistful. 

“You never told  _ anyone _ , not even Sam, but it was the one time in your childhood you felt at peace, the one time you wanted to stay. I thought a replica of that place might make your eternal peace a little sweeter.” 

Their gazes catch and lock. It strikes Cas deep, notched in his chest, beneath his ribs, and tangles with his grace. Dean’s eyes, track over his face, realization dawning over his features, lips parted in a look Cas’ cannot remember ever seeing on Dean’s face before. 

“Cas.” 

There’s something in the way Dean says his name, soft as new-fallen snow, precious as glass, that makes Cas’ words still in his throat. He swallows thick and continues on. “Of course, you can change it if you like. It is your heaven after all, but I thought it was a good start.”

“I don’t need to change a thing,” Dean says, turning to face Cas. “It’s perfect.” 

Trapped in the glow of Dean’s soul, Cas is momentarily stunned. So much so he doesn’t notice Dean’s moved until he feels Dean’s knuckles bump against his index finger. Dean rotates his palm up and slips his fingers between Cas’ until they’re joined, fitting like matched puzzle pieces. 

This isn’t real, this can’t be happening. “W-what are you doing?” 

With a gentle thumb, Dean smoothes over Cas’ skin, tracing over his veins, rolling over his knuckles -- these hands raised to kill, but built to love, to touch another just like this, finally serving their true purpose. 

“You heard my prayer right?” Dean asks. 

“I did, but —” Cas shakes his head in disbelief. 

“I  _ love _ you, Cas,” Dean says. He blinks back the tears in his eyes and says it again. “I  _ love _ you, Cas. And I want this, me and you, for as long as you’ll have me.”

Upon hearing Dean’s words a smile breaks out on Cas’ face, manifesting in a choked-off sob leading into a laugh. 

“You love me?” Cas asks, even as he clings inexplicably tighter to Dean’s fingers where they’re tangled with his own.

Dean loves him. Dean  _ loves  _ him. 

“Yeah,” Dean says, “I do.”

“Well, I’ll be gone sometimes,” Cas adds, feigning seriousness, but his face gives him away. He’s unable stop the small smile that quirks up his lips. “Jack will need help.”

“But you’ll always come back?” 

Covering his hand over Dean’s arm, where his handprint used to be, Cas seals their bond. “Always.” 

Dean’s palm finds Cas’ cheek, a delicate touch on Cas’ skin, and pulls him in. Their lips brush, both hesitant to finally fall into the gravitas of this moment. But then Cas feels Dean’s fingers curl around the hair at the nape of his neck, and that’s it. Dean kisses slow and well-practiced, over-eager but reverent at the same time. He’s like the sunrise, the start of creation, the slow-fall of a comet down to Earth -- a hundred other analogies that fit, but aren’t perfect. Because Dean is, as Cas has come to learn, indescribable. 

It’s the love Cas feels most of all, so overpowering, his grace sings in the force of it. To be loved by the most selfless, caring, and loving man in the universe is of the highest honor and Cas intends to treasure it. 

Once they’ve tired, lips swollen from kisses and Dean’s back aches from being up against the deck railing, they pull apart. Their hands are still joined and Cas fears someone will have to tear him away because he doesn’t plan on letting go anytime soon. 

“I have an idea,” Dean says, eyes sparkling almost mischievously. 

He’s beautiful; radiant in the heavenly sun, but it’s his soul that shines brighter than it all. 

“Oh?” Cas squeezes Dean’s hand once, basking in the fact that he can do this. He can touch Dean, he can love him. Finally. 

“Yeah,” Dean says, leaning back in to steal a short and sweet kiss from Cas’ lips. “Let’s go for a drive.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for being here with me, friends! 
> 
> The show may be done but I am not, I have many more stories for you. I can be found most days on [twitter](https://twitter.com/anastiels) and occasionally on [tumblr](anastiel.tumblr.com). <3


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